At one point, Irwindale Speedway was synonymous with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Since the half-mile oval opened in 1999, there have been 21 races at the facility. However, Saturday night’s Napa 150 will mark the return of the series to the track after a three-year absence.

It’ll be the second race of the season for the West series, part of the 14-race schedule, two of which will be on road courses.

Greg Pursley won the last K&N West race at the track, and the only driver in the field with a win at the track. In all, 11 different drivers have taken the checkered flag and the list is impressive, Austin Cameron is the all-time winner with five triumphs, while current Nationwide driver Brandon Gaughn won three straight at the facility, a feat equaled by Jason Bowles.

In an interesting development, Steve Portenga won the inaugural event in 1999 and will return to Irwindale as crew chief for David Mayhew.

While Pursley may be the only previous winner, he’s not the only one with experience at Irwindale. Jack Sellers leads all drivers with 18 starts at the venue while Brett Thompson has 15.

The field will have its first practice at 11:30 a.m. for 45 minutes, followed by another session at 12:45. Qualifying will start at 4:45 p.m. and the green flag will drop at 8:30 p.m.

A total of 26 cars will start the 150-lap event, the top 22 determined by qualifying, with four provisionals. Points leader Cole Custer will not be in Irwindale as he is just a part-time competitor in the West series. In fact, Pursley is the only one of the top five in points that will make the race.

Custer, Brennan Newberry (second) and Nick Drake (third) will be at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway as part of the K&N East series. Fifth-ranked D.J. Kennington competes in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

The track’s qualifying record is as old as the track. Chino Hills’ Butch Gilliland set the one-lap mark of 17.871 seconds, 100.722 mph on June 19, 1999. Five years later on Oct. 23, 2004, Cameron set the 50-lap race record at 1 hour, 16 seconds, 75.664 mph.

Saturday’s race will also mark Brandon McReynolds’ first K&N Pro Series West event outside of Phoenix while Harvard graduate Patrick Staropoli will make his West season debut after three East starts, with a pair of top-10 finishes.

IndyCar Series

While the series will officially start March 30 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., it’s doing a good job of staying in the spotlight in the buildup to the season-opener.

It was announced last week that Verizon had agreed to a multi-year agreement as the entitlement sponsor.

“It’s a huge day for IndyCar. I think of this day as a game-changer for IndyCar, for the series, for our fans, the teams, our drivers,” said Mark Miles, Hulman Motorsports CEO. “We cannot wait to begin to activate, as the sponsor folks say, and to take this to a new level.”

Furthermore, new 2014 rules will allow teams to receive credit for new tires from its race event allotment. Thus, any team that does not use its allotment at St. Petersburg will get credit for an additional set at Long Beach on April 11-13.

Will Power was the fastest both days this week at the Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Power drove his Chevrolet-powered No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car to a lap of 1:07.0608 seconds, quicker than the 1:07.6492 he posted on Monday.

A total of 171 drivers were within a second of Power’s pace. Justin Wilson, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, was just 0.0038 seconds back, and the quickest with the new twin-turbocharged Honda engine.

Reigning champion Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato were among the top five both days. Also for the second consecutive day, Honda and Chevrolet split the top 10 on the time sheet.

Larry Huffman update

Though it’s highly improbable, legendary announcer Larry Huffman was virtually speechless recently after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Inland Empire chapter of the American Advertising Federation. The award was part of the Mega Monster Advertising Awards banquet at the Mission Inn in Riverside.

“I was blown away,” said Huffman. “It was a night and an honor I’ll never forget.”

His work in radio and television advertising nearly overshadows what he’s accomplished calling various types of motorsports. And it’s fitting that Huffman, a Big Bear resident, was able to attend following a series of health setbacks.

“I’m doing much, much better. After 12 operations on my left leg and foot and undergoing partial amputation of my foot, I’m now walking with a cane; tentatively, learning to walk again on my own,” said Huffman. “I’d met with two surgeons several months ago who both said there was no way to save my lower leg and my only choice was amputation.

“I was within weeks of undergoing the procedure when a friend recommended Dr. Devon Glazer of Orange County, who ‘didn’t believe in amputation.’ After undergoing three reconstructive surgeries with him, I’m on my way to being able to walk again with a small brace that can be switched from shoe to shoe.”

Racing around SoCal

Forrest Lucas, co-founder of Lucas Oil based in Corona, was inducted into Don Garlits’ International Drag Racing Hall of Fame last week in Gainesville, Fla. The Class of 2014 also included John Abbott, Al Bergler, Frank Hawley, Tom Hoover, and Warren Johnson. … James Stewart scored his 48th 450 class win in Supercross last Saturday in Detroit, riding a Yoshimura Suzuki from Chino. The win moved Stewart to third in the points, with Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey way out in front. … Damion Gardner took the lead from Mike Spencer midway through the 30-lap main to win the USAAC/CRA Sokola Shootout on Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Bruce Douglass and Trent Williams won the Senior and Young Gun Sprint Car events, respectively.

Lou Brewster is a nationally recognized motorsports journalist who has staffed NASCAR and NHRA events since 1969. Has also staffed high school football, in five different states, since 1967. Has won several national awards in writing and breaking news.

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